


outlier

by jalexic



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Bittersweet, Drabble, Firewatch au, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5996304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jalexic/pseuds/jalexic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan doesn’t quite know how to feel as he steps into the watchtower.</p>
<p>A freewood Firewatch au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	outlier

**Author's Note:**

> so i'm currently watching cry play firewatch and I just couldn't resist writing this. I don't think I'll be continuing this, it's just a short drabble. enjoy :)

**** Ryan doesn’t quite know how to feel as he steps into the watchtower. The place has a welcoming feel, honey-yellow sunlight spilling in through the window, but he can’t help but feel pessimistic about the whole thing. He knows his sister-in-law would probably try and tell him that this was best for him, that he needs a little time to himself just to think and take it all in. But as casts his gaze across the (very small) room, he’s not so sure.

The bed is tiny, so much so that Ryan honestly doesn’t know if he’ll fit. The desk is even smaller, scattered with random papers, and for a second Ryan feels very claustrophobic. 

He turns to look out one of the many windows, staring steadily at the landscape before him, the constant dips and peaks of the mountains that seem to go on forever. He doesn’t know if he likes it. His dad would probably say something about the ‘great outdoors’ and how ‘nothing can compare to a good whiff of fresh air, you’ll see someday.’ A small part of Ryan hopes that ‘someday’ is very soon.

He bites the inside of his cheek as he realises just how lonely he is. How lonely he has been for a while now. He doesn’t talk to his dad anymore, his conversations with his sister-in-law are usually cut off by some ‘family emergency,’ and then, well, there’s no one else. And now there’s nothing but a tiny room buried in the vast expanse of everything else, the rest of the world spread out before him, and nothing’s ever been this quiet.

“Hello?”

Ryan isn’t proud to admit that the sudden voice scared the shit out of him, and he can’t deny it as he spins around suddenly, eyes searching for anyone else in the watchtower. There’s no one, and he can only see his faded reflection in the window across from him. 

“Hello, Two Forks Tower. You can hear me, right?”

The second time he hears the voice Ryan notices how crackly it is, and it’s then he realises it’s coming from the radio sitting on the desk. He stands stupidly for a moment, just staring, embarrassingly startled.

“Hello? This is Thorofare tower. Is this thing broken?” 

Ryan forces himself to walk the short distance to the desk, picking up the radio and answering. “Uh, hi? Hello, who is this?”

The voice replies immediately. “Oh, thank God! I was honestly starting to think the radios were all muddled. That would’ve been a bad start, don’t you think?” The voice is chirpy, happy, and unmistakably foreign. It’s also young, something Ryan hasn’t felt like in a while.

“Yeah, I guess.” He decides not to force an awkward laugh. “Um, who are you, by the way?”

A bubbly laugh sounds from the radio. “Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce myself! I’m Gavin, and I’m stationed in the other tower. I guess I’m technically your supervisor, but hey, let’s not get all proper, yeah?”

Ryan takes comfort in the fact that no one can see him as he performs a probably stupid looking spin, looking out all the windows until he spots the tower that Gavin must be in. It’s not terribly far away, and he’s not sure if that’s a comforting thought.

He clears his throat. “Yeah, sure. I’m Ryan. Ryan Haywood. It’s, uh, nice to meet you. Or, talk to you, I guess.”

Gavin’s laugh echoes throughout the room once more, and Ryan can’t help the blush that rises to his cheeks. “Aw, aren’t you just lovely! The last lookout was such a twat, honestly. He hardly ever talked to me, and when he did it was just to complain about the silliest things. Like, he would just whine for ages, and never let me get a word in. He always said I talked too much, but I don’t really think I do. I mean, my teachers at school always said I was a bit chatty, but I don’t think that’s really a bad thing. What do you think?”

Ryan blinks and it takes him a second to process everything Gavin just said. “Well, I mean, in this situation, no, I don’t think it’s bad at all. I don’t really talk a whole lot, so I’ll just let you fill the silence.”

It’s easy to tell Gavin is grinning. “Hey, that’s a nice way to look at it. It’s like we fit! I already like you better than the last guy. He would’ve never said something like that. Especially not on the first day. In fact, on his first day, all he did was complain about how his parents kicked him out of their house and that was why he was out here in the first place. Hey, speaking of, why are you out here?”

Ryan swallows. Immediately he tries to focus solely on the view of Gavin’s tower, pushing back all of his memories, but everything suddenly seems so far away.  “I, uh,” he forces himself to say. “Just, family troubles, y’know?”

There’s a beat of silence before Gavin says “Yeah, I get it,” suddenly softer, and Ryan has to breathe deeply for a moment. 

Neither of them speak for a few seconds, and during that time Ryan stares hard at Gavin’s tower, thinking for a second that he sees the shadow of someone moving inside. It’s probably a trick of the light, he’s too far away to really see anything, but it’s a little comforting to remind himself that there’s someone else out here.

“Hey, Gavin?” he says, receiving a hum in response. “Do you ever get lonely out here?” he continues. “Even with the radio and everything, do you just wish you were somewhere else?”

Gavin sighs thoughtfully. “Well, the first time I wished I was somewhere else, I ended up here. And I haven’t really thought that way since. Yeah, I guess it’s lonely, but that’s kind of the whole reason I came out here, y’know? And it doesn’t really bother me. I have a feeling it won’t bother you after a while, either.”

Ryan hums. “Yeah, maybe.” And as he casts his gaze over the landscape once more, the great expanse of nobody and nothing except for Gavin in the other tower, deep down he knows that Gavin is right. 


End file.
